On 6/22/10 at 6:59 AM, rgorka at gmail.com (telefunkenvf14) wrote:
>2. I'm still absolutely right about one thing: Mathematica needs to
>have a consistent way to programmatically create a matrix----that
>both *looks* like a matrix in StandardForm and *behaves* like one.
>What I mean is: On screen formatting and behavior just like
>Insert->Table/Matrix
If you allow for output to be displayed in TraditionalForm
rather than StandardForm, then Mathematica currently has the
ability to do exactly what you have described above. Note, it is
TraditionalForm not StandardForm that is designed display in the
way you would see it in text books. StandardForm is a
Mathematica standard designed to ensure unambiguous display.
The problem with TraditionalForm is an expression such as
f(x+y). Depending on context, this could be interpreted as the
variable f times the sum of x and y or a function f of the sum
of x and y. StandardForm avoids this ambiguity.
Both the menu item and input palette work fine with the display
of input cells set to StandardForm and generate a template that
looks like a matrix. However, I direct input of matrices quicker
by entering the appropriate braces from the keyboard rather than
selecting a menu item or a palette item with a mouse then
entering a matrix.
By setting the default input display style to StandardForm and
the default output display style to TraditionalForm, I am able
to easily enter stuff from the keyboard with a minimum of mouse
usage and have a result that matches what you see in a text
book. The only issue I've seen with this arrangement is
occasional issues when doing a copy/paste operation from an
output cell to a new input cell. But since these issues are
reasonably infrequent and I seldom need to perform such a
copy/paste operation, the additional effort needed to work
around these issues are not significant to me.
And if you set your default output display to TraditionalForm,
you will find you no longer have any need for MatrixForm.